What is Icenian coinage?

This thesis considers the purpose of the Late Iron Age coinage which was produced in northern East Anglia, and is usually attributed to the Iron Age tribe, the Iceni. The main source of new information used in the thesis is a detailed die-study of over 10,000 Icenian coins, believed to be the largest such study attempted for a complete regional Iron Age coinage. The thesis includes a review of previous scholarly work on the coinage and gives consideration to recent research into ancient economies and organisational structures. The organisation of the coinage is explored and it is divided into four sequential chronological periods. The thesis explores the practical and organisational aspects of minting and finds that metal content and weight were important factors at all stages of production. The imagery and inscriptions of the coins are examined and it is found that, over the hundred years of so of production, there was a shift in emphasis from complex imagery, often containing hidden faces, to standardised simpler forms of iconography. The thesis explores the monetary role of coinage implied by these factors. The deposition of coinage is considered, both as hoards and as single finds. The thesis shows how this evidence confirms the chronology and organisation of the coinage. It also shows that, contrary to previous assumptions, hoarding was not a continuous process in the study region. It was episodic using specific forms of coinage. The thesis finds increasing evidence of monetisation but also explores other potential uses for the coinage, and reasons for its issue. The detailed die-study and descriptions of the many types of coin are presented as appendices.